Blogger seemed to have eaten this yesterday, so another try.

I finally got my iPod shuffle yesterday. W00t!!1!11!one!1!! Of course, I don't have iTunes, and I don't have internet at home. I also didn't know that unlike my previous player, the iPod Shuffle doesn't simply allow you to drag and drop mp3 files and play them. The shuffle needs a database file with all the track names and locations. So most of my night was spent sitting forlornly looking at my new toy and begging it to play something.

Thanks to the Internets, I am now a free man. I have a install of iTunes I could use, but instead, I found <a href="http://agoraphobeus.free.fr/iShuffle/index.html">iShuffle</a>. Small program, freeware, sits in the shuffle and builds the database file for you. Just drag and drop the mp3 files onto the shuffle as if it were a USB flash drive. Run iShuffle, and viola, you are ready to play and have fun. Which I finally intend to do.

I also predict that I will lose this tiny toy in under a week.